Sunset Breeze
By Lilly Lovegood(2) Allegiances CloudClan Leader: Cumulusstar- light grey tom with blue eyes Deputy: Russetheart- russet coloured she-cat Medicine Cat: Cinderwish- very dark gray she-cat Warriors: Dustclaw- dark brown tabby tom Apprentice, Torrentpaw Shadowrage- black tom Rosethorn- gray she-cat Apprentice, Duskpaw Brambleheart- brown tabby tom Gingerpelt- ginger she-cat Apprentice, Willowpaw Apprentices: Torrentpaw- white tom with amber eyes Duskpaw- black she-cat Willowpaw- light ginger she-cat Kits: ''' '''Serpentkit- light grey tom with green eyes Amberkit- golden she-cat Frostkit- white she-cat Queens: Silentwhisper- blue-gray she-cat Elders: Scarletpool- vivid ginger shecat Lostheart- very dark grey tom 'Chapter 1' Cumulusstar twitched in his sleep, as if dreaming something. Indeed, he was dreaming something. The light grey tom was padding around in the middle of nowhere, lost and confused. He looked up to say a prayer to StarClan, when he noticed there were cats' faces in the middle of the clouds, cats' faces made of clouds. ''' '''A starry cat leapt through the holes that represented their eyes. Cumulusstar recognised her sleek tortoiseshell pelt, and her striped tabby tail. "Windlash?" he asked. The tortoiseshell cat nodded, her eyes brimming with emotion. Windlash had been Cumulusstar's mate, but she had died bearing his two kits, Amberkit and Frostkit. "I miss you." he admitted. "I really do." "I miss you too." breathed the she-cat. "But let's not talk about that right now. Lostheart has greencough, correct?" Her starry pelt glimmered. "Yes, he does." Cumulusstar replied. "And Cinderwish can't find a single scrap of catmint to cure him...." Lostheart had been a good friend of his for a long time. "Tell her to look by the Twolegplace." murmured Windlash. "What?" Cumulusstar's tail was twitching and he looked over his shoulder as if expecting to see the harsh light of a Twoleg monster in the distance. "It's teeming with monsters!" "Would I tell you to tell her to if it wasn't safe?" asked Windlash softly. Slowly, she began to fade. "No!" yowled Cumulusstar. "Stay here with me." "I will always be with you." whispered Windlash, waving her tail in farewell. Then she disappeared. ''' Chapter 2 '''Cumulusstar's eyes fluttered open. He instinctively stretched and padded out into the clearing. "Cinderwish?" he called, wanting to tell the young medicine cat where to find some catmint...Lostheart was ever growing weaker. When he glanced into the medicine cat's den, Lostheart was not visibly breathing. He heaved a huge breath and let it out with a sigh. "If you are destined to go today, old friend, I cannot stop it. If you are not, Cinderwish has one last chance to save you...." He was clinging on to that tiny thread of hope, that Lostheart may still be alive. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Russetheart heading towards him. "Have you seen Cinderwish?" he asked desperately. When the lean she-cat shook her head, he lashed his tail in agitation. "I'm no medicine cat, but I'm convinced Lostheart is dying." "He is the oldest cat in CloudClan." Russetheart reminded him gently. She knew that the two had known each other since they were apprentices. "I have gotten so used to him being here, a friend...a comfort...." He broke off as the dread filled him up again. "I don't know what I'll do if he's..." Cinderwish came rushing into camp. "I've found nothing." she reported. Cumulusstar realised she must have been hunting for catmint. "I had a dream." he confessed. "I saw Windlash and cats' faces made of clouds. Windlash told me to tell you to look for catmint near the Twolegplace." Cinderwish looked just as surprised as he had been. "It's teeming with monsters this time of year." Monsters raced up and down and through the Twolegplace, as the warmth of greenleaf enticed them out of their nests, not made of bracken and moss, but of some hard Twoleg thing called "bricks". ' '"That's what I said. But she asked me if she would tell me to send my medicine cat anywhere if it wasn't safe." Cumulusstar said softly. "I guess." Cinderwish murmured, clearly still uncertain. "May I have Gingerpelt just in case?" she asked. Cumulusstar dipped his head. "Of course. Gingerpelt!" he called. The ginger she-cat dashed over to Cumulusstar. "Yes?" "Can you take Cinderwish to gather catmint near Twolegplace?She's a bit uncertain about the monsters." "That's an apprentice task! Can I send Willowpaw instead?" "No." said Cumulusstar. "The Twolegplace is no place for apprentices...besides, warriors do what they're told." Gingerpelt glanced at Cumulusstar and reluctantly fell in step behind Cinderwish. "He's as bad as a kittypet leader." muttered Gingerpelt so quietly nobody heard her. 'Chapter 3' "Why me?" grumbled Gingerpelt."Warriors don't do apprentice tasks." Cinderwish overheard this and glanced back. "They do if they're told to." A dark tabby cat hid behind one of the walls, unseen by the two cats padding by. He let out a battle cry and leapt on Gingerpelt. Cinderwish looked up to StarClan, knowing she couldn't join in with the fight; medicine cats were meant to keep peace. So she was torn between her loyalty to StarClan and her loyalty to her Clanmate. "Get off me!" grunted Gingerpelt, writhing under his huge tabby paw. But the tom held her fast as the gravel scraped her pelt. "Only on one condition..." hissed the tom. "Who do you think you are?" Gingerpelt's arrogance and sarcasticness had clearly not left her even though she was being overpowered. "A Clan leader?" "I am your assailant." replied the tom. "I will let you go, but only if you kill her." He jerked his head towards Cinderwish. "What has she done to you?" spat Gingerpelt. "She's a medicine cat! What do you want with her?" "It was my orders." ' '"Run, Cinderwish!" yowled Gingerpelt. The medicine cat bolted, picking up her catmint. "Go ahead and kill me. She waited for the pain as the tom unsheathed his curved claws. 'Chapter 4' "Pleasure." hissed the tom. "Before I kill you, my name is Claw. Remember it." He lifted a claw and slitted her throat neatly, staining it a vivid scarlet. "Pity....if only she had cooperated, she would have been great." He watched as Gingerpelt took a shuddering breath and died. But the medicine cat was gone. He had failed in his mission, and he would be punished. In the moment that followed, Claw could have sworn he saw two starry cats rising to the sky. "No!" The agonised yowl was Cumulusstar's. "You..." He leapt on the back of the tom, but he couldn't get a grip on his pelt. Claw ran off into the distance, too fast for Cumulusstar to have any hope of catching up to him. And I never told her... thought Cumulusstar. The truth was, Gingerpelt was his daughter. He hadn't thought she was mature enough to cope with such a serious truth. But now he regretted not telling her before. She'd probably find out when she was reunited with Windlash, who she knew as her mother. Gingerpelt had always assumed her father was a rogue... Windlash hopped down from the sky to sit beside him. "Didn't I say just before I died I'd be here whenever you needed me most. Well, I'm here." Tears stung Cumulusstar's clear blue eyes. "Why? Why MY daughter? StarClan, why do you punish me?" He pushed his nose into his mate's fur and was comforted by her familiar scent. Suddenly she began to fade. "No!" yowled Cumulusstar. "I need you...please....please....stay....I really need you." But she was gone. Category:Fan Fictions